How to Make a Chain Using The Chainmail Barrel Pattern.

How to Make a Chain Using The Chainmail Barrel Pattern.

Hello crafty peeps!

Today, I'm showing you another beginner/beginner plus chainmaille weave called Barrel. I've labelled this is a beginner plus level weave in my Etsy shop, but once you've successfully made a unit, it's just a matter of repeating the pattern, so an ambitious beginner could certainly have a go, too. 

The tutorial below shows you how to make one 'unit' of the weave, using 5 rings.

You will need:

  •  5mm inner diameter jump rings using 1.25mm thick wire
  • A clasp
  • 2 pairs of smooth-jawed jewellery pliers
    bronze jump rings and a bronze coloured lobster clasp

    A note about the jump rings: 

    You just need one sized ring for this weave. 100 rings make a bracelet that is almost 8 inches in length. I've used 16 gauge (1.25mm thick) wire, with rings that have an inner diameter of 5mm. This creates a slightly looser chain, which is easier to make. For more experienced maillers, an inner diameter of 4.5mm works very well.

    A note about the pliers:

    I recommend a pair of chain nose pliers and a pair of bent nose pliers, but you can also use 2 pairs of flat nose or chain nose pliers. I prefer a pair of flat nose pliers for 16 gauge rings.

    Barrel Chain Tutorial

    Step 1:

    Open your first ring. Loop it through the hole in the lobster clasp, then close.

    Step 2:

    Pre-open 5 of the rings to make make one unit. The unit is not stable until you have attached the 5th ring, so you will need to keep hold of your work until then.

    Step 3:

    Add a ring to the first ring.

    Step 4:

    Add a second ring to the first ring.


    Step 5:

    Arrange those two rings so that the bottom ring overlaps the top ring with a clear 'eye' in the middle.

    Step 6:

    The next ring will go around the eye. First push it UP through the top ring, over the eye, then DOWN through the bottom ring. You'll need to let go of the rings to close the ring, but make sure you get them all back into position for the next step.


    Step 7: 

    Keeping the rings in position with you thumb and forefinger, add another ring in exactly the same way as the previous ring. Make sure it hasn't gone through the previous ring before moving on. Again, hold all the rings in position for the final step.


    Step 8:

    Push the fifth ring up through the top ring, then up again through the bottom ring, so that it has gone through the 'eye'. Once you have closed it, you will have created your first barrel unit. Go back to step 2, and keep going until you have the chain length you want. 

    At the time of writing, I have a silver bracelet kit and a bronze necklace kit in my Etsy shop. I'll be adding to that very soon, but in the meantime, just message me on Etsy if you want a silver necklace, or bronze bracelet :)